


Serrated

by monstersinthecosmos



Series: The Usher [7]
Category: Vampire Chronicles - Anne Rice
Genre: Body Modification, Hand Jobs, Multi, Nipple Destruction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-19
Updated: 2017-02-19
Packaged: 2018-09-25 14:04:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9823802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/monstersinthecosmos/pseuds/monstersinthecosmos
Summary: Armand is curious about body piercings.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Written while listening to [Serrated by Scattle](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fLpkhDYy70). :D
> 
> ALSO SHOUTOUT TO [HEATHENPESTICIDE](http://archiveofourown.org/users/heathenpesticide/pseuds/heathenpesticide) FOR BOOZE ADVICE.

 

_1982_

 

Punks were always lingering in the Village at night. The city was filled with pockets of life after hours; spilling out of shows, crowding late-night diners, smoking cigarettes on the sidewalks. And among the entire spectrum of humanity, the varying levels of wealth and culture that New York had to offer, Armand liked the Village best.It was where he first learned about body piercings.

At first, Armand would point them out and ask Daniel all the questions.

“Why do they dress like this?”

“Why do they wear their hair like that?”

“Why do they put jewelry in their face? What does it mean, Daniel?”

There were some answers Daniel could provide. He’d seen some shows at the Fab Mab and interviewed some Bay Area punk musicians. But this was foundational knowledge, cultural stuff. Armand persisted with his usual nonsense, his need to unpack every human experience, codify and compartmentalize every little thing until it made sense to him, and eventually Daniel had thrown his hands up in the air and snapped “I don’t know, Armand! Ask them!” He gestured wildly at a group of teens on the corner and then sat down on the stoop in a huff. He lit a cigarette and crossed his arms over his chest in frustration.

“And where do you get this done?” he asked one night. The girl was smiling around her cigarette as Daniel lit it for her. She shrugged, casual and open, and leaned back against the railing on the steps.

“Well, it depends,” she touched the ring in her left nostril. “This one I did myself, you just need a safety pin.” Her fingertip trailed up the chain that hung from it, the other end affixed to her earlobe. “Ears, too, those are all easy to do. My friend did these ones for me.”

Armand’s eyebrow raised and his lips parted in fascination. He reached out towards her but hesitated. “May I?” he asked. She giggled and nodded, and he took the chain between his fingers, giving it a gentle little tug. He followed it to her ear, reaching to touch the line of studs that went up, then the hoop through her tragus. Her head tilted towards his hand. Daniel looked away to roll his eyes at the obvious silent flirtation.

“But some stuff you probably don’t wanna do yourself,” she said. “Like, you know. If you’re gonna do your nipples or something, get a professional. You don’t wanna lose sensation if you fuck it up.”

“Nipples!” Armand’s eyes brightened with delight. “You’ve done this to your nipples!”

“Sure!”

“Why would you do this?”

“It feels awesome during sex.”

Daniel wasn’t surprised that she wound up between their bodies in their hotel room within the hour. Armand participated more than he usually did, curious about the way she writhed under him when he twisted the shining barbells between his fingers and impressed by how wet she was when he took them into his mouth. It gave Daniel an uncomfortable and creeping feeling of jealousy to watch. He hadn’t expected to feel that way, seeing Armand’s teeth come down against the metal, the way he was pulling, just enough for her to squirm and whine, not enough to harm her.

_Don’t be ridiculous, Daniel. Join me._

He took Daniel’s hand and guided it to the warmth between her legs, sharing her for a moment, both of them working her over before he finally lifted his head from her breast, kissed Daniel on the mouth, and withdrew. _All yours, Daniel_ , and with a little wink he retired to his usual spot in the corner to witness the rest.

Later, after she’d gone, Armand joined him on the bed and ran his fingertips in soft circles over Daniel’s nipples. Gave one of them a quick pinch. When Daniel tried to swat him away, he dug in with his fingernails. Daniel let out a shout.

“What the fuck!”

Armand put his mouth over it in apology, sucking for a moment to try to soothe it. When Daniel relaxed beneath him he lifted his head.

“You should get them.”

“Get what?”

“The rings. I want you to get them.”

The idea sent a quiet jolt of adrenaline through him, made his head swim. He wasn’t sure if it was arousal or apprehension. “Armand…” he sighed.

“I want you to have them,” he lowered himself to suck again. Daniel groaned and arched his back into it, not even meaning to.

“Get yours pierced,” he mumbled. “Leave mine alone.”

He idly pet the back of Armand’s head and stared up at the ceiling. Part of him was being contrary for the sake of it, because keeping up with Armand’s ideas and whims could be so exhausting sometimes. But he wondered if it would really be that bad. He didn’t mind how they looked. Maybe it would be fun during sex. It could certainly expand their bedroom activities, limited as they were by Armand’s condition.

Armand had reached lower and was stroking him. The attention to his chest and the thought of sex had gotten him half hard. He closed his eyes and relaxed into the sensation. It wasn’t a horrible idea, but… the thought of the needle piercing through filled him with dread. It was such a lucid mental image: pink nub locked into a clamp, hollow needle gouging a tunnel through the flesh. It made the hair stand up all over his body. Fuck, that would hurt.

In response to the thought, Armand bit down, fang tearing through gracelessly, ripping the areola and making a complete mess of his skin. Fangs were bigger than needles, and even though they were small and subtle, even though Armand could hide them when he smiled or laughed, whenever they penetrated it was all Daniel could feel. Overbearing, overpowering. The idea that the needle would hurt had vanished, scattered, and the heat rose instantly to his face at the explosive pain. The images jumbled in his mind, from needles to teeth to blades, he imagined being shredded, torn, and he could feel every centimeter of Armand’s teeth dragging over him as if they were one serrated edge. There were tears in his eyes as he cried out against it, and he’d come in Armand’s hand, and tugged at his hair as violently as he could in some feeble revenge, but he knew it would barely register.

His breaths were shaky and his whole torso trembled while Armand healed the flesh he’d ruined. It tingled, and he was glad he didn’t have to see any of it as he felt the skin mending back together, smoothed over by the supple moisture of Armand’s mouth. The heat was still there, the pain blending outward into something pleasurable. Not the pleasure of sharp arousal—the orgasm had taken the edge off—but something comforting and soft. The rush of endorphins loosened every muscle, warmed every nerve. He sank back into the pillows and covered his face with his hands.

“Let’s go tomorrow and do them,” Armand said. He kissed the healed nipple. “It won’t hurt this bad.”

Daniel was reading the paper the next night when Armand materialized beside him. He jumped and nearly knocked his coffee over.

“Goddamnit Armand,” he scolded. “Can you not?”

Armand just smiled. “I found a place, let’s go.”

Just hearing the words made his nipple tingle where it had been maimed the night before. He opened his mouth to protest but something about the look in Armand’s eyes made him stop. The ugly incandescent lamplight had brought the color out. Gorgeous amber, nearly gold. Thick lashes. He looked so young and sweet and it turned into one of those surreal moments where Daniel couldn’t help trying to imagine what he’d been like when he was alive. How could anyone say no to this face?

But the memory of the pain was so distant, so indistinct when he was finally seated in the piercer’s chair. It was so hard to recall pain explicitly—the brain made it so. He just remembered how it had felt like heat, how it had felt sharp and red and how Armand’s hand had worked him to climax at the peak of it. It didn’t help the anxious nausea that came over as he saw the equipment laid out on the counter, glinting in the light. He shivered against the cool air of the room, nipples hard, shirt in a ball in his lap. He was twisting the fabric restlessly in his hands.

“Nervous?” the piercer asked as she swabbed him with cold rubbing alcohol. It made goosebumps bloom across his skin.

“I don’t like needles.”

She chucked under her breath. “I’ll be fast.”

Armand was smiling from a seat in the corner when she brushed her thumb over Daniel’s nipple, positioning it where she needed it before coming down with the clamp. The sheen of sweat came over Daniel’s skin at the pressure, knuckles white around the shirt in his hands. He could feel the shock like a tangible line up and down his spine, a white thread he could visualize. And, god, his poor nipple. He wondered if she could possibly understand what it had been through in the past twenty-four hours. The memory made his throat go dry.

“Okay, I’m gonna go on three,” she said. She put the needle in place, the point hovering, threatening. Armand sat up straighter. “One, two, deep breath—“

He obeyed, breathing in through his nose.

“—exhale, three.”

She pushed it through as he let his breath out, and it felt like the space in his lungs had made room for the flood of heat and red and throbbing and adrenaline that came in. It radiated up to his shoulder and he felt it hovering beneath his collar bone, then creep all the way down to his hips. He winced but didn’t make a sound, grit his teeth and watched as she pulled the jewelry through. As she screwed the ball on he could see the color rising to his chest. His face felt hot, too; he knew he must be blushing.

The second one was easier. He was floating in the disorienting haze of adrenaline and the puncture felt all together sweeter. It felt purple and gold this time, and he closed his eyes to focus on it. Not unlike being bitten, really, though without the usual swoon that Armand produced. Still, his body responded to the similarities and the pleasure trilled all over.

He trusted Armand to listen to the lecture about aftercare when she was done; all he wanted to do was get outside and have a smoke, maybe slip into the nearest bar for a few quick shots. Maybe Armand would give him the Blood tonight; he deserved it after everything.

_Yes, Daniel. You were amazing._

His shirt rubbed them raw as they walked back. Uncomfortable but sort of exciting. Not the vivid pain from the moments the needles went through, that had passed quickly enough, but sore and tight. The fresh nicotine reduced all of it to a buzzing warmth and if Armand hadn’t been holding him by the arm he was sure he would’ve lost his balance. He’d been considering dragging Armand into a bar until he realized how badly he wanted to be home and shirtless; he opted instead to stop at a liquor store. Bought a bottle of Sazerac Rye and started drinking it straight from the brown paper sheath for the last couple blocks until they were back.

“Do you like them, Daniel?” Armand asked as they came inside.

“I guess,” he was buzzed, lips a little numb and senses dulled, but a few minutes off from slurring. He put the bottle on the nightstand and pulled his shirt off, whimpering when it snagged on the jewelry and sent a ripple of agony through his chest. It reverberated when he fell down to the bed too hard. He took another slug from the bottle to calm himself.

“I like how they look,” Armand said. He was standing at the foot of the bed, head cocked to the side as he studied them. He lifted a hand to his chin and curled his fingers over his mouth. “But I must admit…”

“What?”

Armand kneeled at the edge of the bed. There was something animalistic in his eyes, something hungry. He put his hands down on either side of Daniel’s legs and crawled forward, shoulders rising and falling like a cat. “I really enjoyed watching it.”

Daniel flinched when Armand went to touch one of them. He covered it instinctively with his free hand, the other still clutching at the bottle. “Didn’t she say not to fuck with them right away?”

“Yes, she did.”

The cool fingers wrapped around his wrist and pulled him away. Daniel took another sip, staring suspiciously but unable to protest against the wide gold eyes as Armand began to unscrew the ball on the barbell. A slight ache and short gasp as Armand pulled the jewelry away entirely.

“What are you doing?”

The smile that came on his face was so languid and creepy and the boy would’ve recoiled if he had anywhere else to go. Pale lips split by a deep red that filled every minute crack in his skin, that grew outward until it was nearly dripping. It happened so slowly that Daniel’s mind couldn’t reconcile it right away. Then it struck him at once as Armand leaned down to kiss him. _Blood, the fucking Blood._

Cold lips pressed to the hot wound. And that feeling again, the tingling and the mending skin, the cells stitching themselves back together.

“What are you doing?” he asked again. He tried to scoot back but the confident hands were holding him by the waist, keeping him in place.

Armand licked at his nipple, playfully, and lifted his eyes. Such thick lashes, so pretty. Almost girly. Amber eyes, almost opalescent. Daniel found himself unable to breathe, trapped there in the magnetic gaze.

The vampire smiled.

“Let’s do it again soon.”


End file.
